My first stick was a stick - which I found at a trailhead more than six years ago. I do now use trekking poles, but only because I don’t wish to break my original stick, to which I am greatly sentimental. I have no such emotional ties to my trekking poles, and therefore pound them mercilessly.
Kineo Kid
James, Broom handle, ski pole, tree limb, bamboo, factory-pole, walking cane, dried bull-penis, WHATEVER, they certainly take a load off your knees when used for hiking.
Tha Wookie, yes, I hiked with a stick. I picked one up to help support me after my knees gave out. With the aid of he stick I was able to hobble out to the highway and hitch a ride home. When I returned to the trail, I started with a factory-pole. It just felt more comfortable in my hamd, plus I liked the ability to adjust the length of the pole.
Say what you want, but I think you’re fartin in the wind trying to canvince hikers to drop the poles and pick up the sticks.
Pancho
(Darth Vader Voice) Wookie, I find your lack of faith…Disturbing
Kidding, of course :). Seriosuly though, I don’t think that people should be discouraged from using poles just because they can be used improperly and cause damage. Should we discourage people from carrying pocketknives for the same reason? I’m sure everyone who reads/posts here has seen damage caused by people carving random stuff into trees or cutting off branches for firewood. It’s definitely possible to hike with poles and leave a minimal impact on the trail if you use your brain a little bit. So in short, I guess I’m all about education being as much a part of preparing for the trail as getting the right gear together.
Not sure if I’m a “fuzzy factory-pole story writer,” but yes, I have hiked with both a single wooden stick and with a pair of wooden sticks quite a lot. It’s not what the poles are made of that makes the big difference, but the way decent commercial pole grips are shaped and combined with a strap. If you can show me where to find trees that grow with a strap that will let me put a lot of weight on the stick without gripping it, while staying as light and strong as my Lekis, I’ll be glad to make the swich.
Skittles 03
I feel like a lone voice in the desert here.
Everybody’s all wacky head-over-heels about their clickity clacks, but…
Pacerpoles HAVE that ergonomic grip that ELIMINATES the need for strap-hanging your hands. They are not a tree branch, but as light and as strong as Lekis or what have you. Puts all other pole grips to shame, shame, shame. “Decent commercial pole grips” suck by comparison. NO straps needed. I don’t care what the glossy advertising says, wrists were NOT meant to hang from one-inch webbing, which is pretty much the only way these straight-gripped poles are functional. Nerve damage, no thanks! Pacer poles rock.
Last I knew, Brian Frankle at ULA-Equipment was the only USA distributor, because that’s where I got mine. And like the Kid above, I pound them mercilessly.
Happy hiking and see you out there!
:boy
Tyger
Damn Pancho-thanx for the suggestion to use a dried-bull penis. Why didn’t I think of that. Could have saved me a 130 bucks…
A-Train
The bull penises smell kinda bad once the dog has gnawed on them for a few hours on a summer afternoon. I put a quick stop to that nonsense. But thru hikers probably wouldn’t care about that kind of smell, would they…
Rubber tips, folks. RUBBER TIPS!
Tyger
First of all…Tyger, ewwww.
Second: I used Leki’s for the Approach Trail and .9 miles of the AT before umm…eh hem…misplacing them. After that, i used sticks for 4 days until receiving my Leki’s by mail (Thanks to Rainman). I learned the difference right away. The poles are MUCH more comfortable. And, being lighter, I could adjust where they went quicker if i lost footing or whatever. Now, I don’t know if bamboo would be just as good because I didn’t use bamboo, so i don’t know about that.
And Third: I miss you too Burn. And I wasn’t thinking with the wrong head. But you have to admit…she IS cute!
Leki-Less
If you need the “ergonomic” handle in your stick, then get out the knife you mention and get to know the years of a tree limb. You can find out all sorts of wonderful things in the process while you shape your own custom handle. Whittling into a piece of wood will expose to you the personality and history. After all, like you, it is a living being. Join it together perfectly with your hand and you will walk with a renewed sense of vigor and accomplishment. Some things money just can’t buy.
Tha Wookie
This thread is getting a bit off topic, but I’m a big fan of making my own stuff too (stoves, shelter, stuff sacks, bike wheels, furniture, etc.) and hope I didn’t come across as being some kind of commercial-only gearhead. Hiking poles are just one of those things, like footwear and climbing ropes, that some companies make better than most of us could at home. Now, better is obviously a subjective term that we respectfully disagree on. I tend to compare gear options in a more technical sense than a spiritual one, but to each his own.
Skittles 03